this morning on "early today." road to charlotte. president obama stops off in ohio and new orleans before tomorrow's dnc kickoff. mystery ship. isaac's pounding surf washes up what could be a civil war-era vessel. and, royal sea england's prince andrew goes to great heights for a good cause. >> this is "early today" for monday, september 3rd, 2012. >> hello and very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. we begin with labor day on the campaign trail. while much of the country has the day off, president obama will be hard at work before

heading to the democratic national convention tomorrow. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from charlotte with the details. traci, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. i'm standing in front of the stadium where we will see president obama speak here in charlotte later in the week. but first he is on a campaign trip that he calls road to charlotte. today he'll be in ohio and storm-ravaged louisiana. but first, take a look. the president in boulder, colora colorado, on sunday talking about the republicans' convention last week. as the president put it, there were hard truths but nobody told us what they were. some pretty tough talk from president obama there. now meantime, mitt romney off the campaign trail on sunday. he was with his family. we saw him going to church in new hampshire. but his running mate paul ryan was out there talking about the president, talking about president obama's claim that republicans are running on empty. ryan says the president's campaign is based on fear and

frustration. lots of frustrated voters out there, including many in battleground north carolina. we will hear from them this week. a lot of democratic supporters already in town eager to tell their side of the story after tampa last week. but also a lot of protesters here. we saw hundreds of them here in charlotte yesterday. keep in mind this is the big bank capital of the south. they were protesting lack of regulation on banks, on wall street, and for the environment. veronica? >> tracie potts in charlotte, thank you. followers are mourning the death of the reverend sun myung moon in south korea. he made his unification church a worldwide religious and business phenomenon in the 1970s. he was the self-proclaimed messiah of a religion that was regarded by some as a cult that used brainwashing. he was best known for mass weddings of thousands of his followers who were referred to by many as mooneys.

six days as isaac ravaged the state more than 200,000 people across louisiana are still without power this morning. while some residents in hard-hit plaquemines parish say they're cleaning up for the last time, others are questioning whether post-katrina upgreats for new orleans hurt surrounding areas. >> reporter: the flooding is slowly receding across southern louisiana. the threat of high water has some neighborhoods still on high alert. st. tampany parish officials are monitoring a breach at a lock and considering evacuations of 5,000 homes. >> we don't do this lightly because we don't want people out of their homes. but safety is first. >> reporter: as power crews work to restore electricity to the more than 200,000 still in the dark, the rebuilding in the bayou has begun. but for many residents, losing everything again -- >> second time around. >> reporter: -- is making them think twice about staying. >> we're thinking about moving

on. >> reporter: diane has decided not to rebuild her plaquemines parish home. >> maybe if i was inside the levee system down this way, not so bad. but no, i hive no plans on returning. >> reporter: it's that levee system, credited with protecting new orleans, that now has some residents concerned. >> you're going to put this flood system up, which is a good thing, it's a good thing. it stopped the city from flooding, it's a good thing. but you're not going to worry about where you're pushing the water. >> we would not have built a system that would have induced flooding in other places. >> reporter: the army corps of engineers will study the impacts of isaac and investigate if the new protection system ended up harming surrounding areas. >> and we will take this storm and run it through our models and see what lessons we learn. >> reporter: lessons that residents hope will lessen the destruction when the next storm comes. frances koe, nbc news. here's a look at other

stories making news in america. in oregon a five-alarm fire destroyed several buildings at a hotel complex. the hotel had been vacant for years and no one was hurt. some 200 firefighters had to be called in to knock down the flames. >> in alabama, it may be the most unusual result of hurricane isaac. the wreckage of a mystery ship that may be from the civil war era has been discovered along the beach due to all of the erosion from the storm. but even more amazing, the ship has been spotted before when the beach washed away in past hurricanes like ivan in 2004. finally, where else but buffalo would you hold the national buffalo wing festival. and the mandatory chicken wing-eating contest. taking top honors, the man with the indestructible appetite, joey chestnut. the perennial hot dog-eating champ set a world recording, downing 191 wings in 12 minutes. oh my goodness.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, bill karins with the weather channel forecast. there was a girl in there. >> of course. there's a whole category for the women. they have a whole separate division. >> stomach of steel. just watching it makes my stomach churn. >> blue the cheese with my wings, i can't eat them plain. hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend. it's a very warm weekend around the country too. the middle of the country has been very hot this weekend. it's going to continue hot during the day today from oklahoma to texas and very dry. the cold front is not much of a cold front but it has cooled you off slightly in the northern plains after some record heat the last couple of days. in the eastern half of the u.s. it's not as hot but it's still humid for this time of year all the way up the eastern seaboard. we can thank isaac for that. that moisture that's left over that brought the humidity up the east coast, southerly winds and southwesterly winds. for the most part you can see hit and miss rain over kentucky. the 48-hour rains have been

impressive. 1 to 2 inches across much of the ohio valley. this is again a very dry region of the country so that's good. what's next in the tropics? this is probably the peak week of the hurricane season. we have tropical storm leslie. unfortunately this trough heading up to the coastline, off the coast i should say, is going to miss leslie. the storm is going to sit and linger off the eastern seaboard the next week. near bermuda next weekend. it will send large waves and rip currents, probably dangerous beach weather today through the next couple of days on the eastern sea board. be careful, swim near lifeguards, dodge those afternoon storms because of that humidity that will pop up this afternoon. that's a look at your national forecast. now the weather outside your window. we'll continue to watch a chance of showers and storms many areas of east coast including miami, d.c., baltimore, philadelphia. pretty much all the way up the coastline. we are dry in the middle of the country. hot, austin 99.

looks leek what's left of isaac, that moisture, going to bring rain to the east for the next couple of days. >> it's going to be a wet labor day, we didn't want that. >> not all day. ben hinsy's ready putting bain under the microphone. and the breakfast worth so much they're stealing it from warehouses. this weekend, this movie set a record at the box office. the kind of record you don't want to set. maurice jones-drew straps on the pads. a pair of walkoffs on the diamonds. and a catch that will make you flip out.

welcome back to "early today." here are some of your top headlines this morning. the death toll in syria last week was put at 1,600 people

killed, the largest weekly figure of the rebellion according to the united nations children's fund. rebel groups say they plan to start targeting civil airports in damascus and aleppo tomorrow. in mexico police arrested a drug cartel leader known as the devil commander. he was wanted in a series of killings and was infamous for having some victims hanged from bridges. in egypt the country's first news anchor wearing a head scarf since 2002 appeared on state tv. the rule change on wearing a head scarf was made by the new information minister, a member of the muslim brotherhood. england's prince andrew and others jumped off the 87th floor of europe's tallest structure and rappelled more than 1,000 feet. the charity stunt was to raise money for the outbard bound trust. prince andrew is the trust chairman.

here's an "early look" at how wall street finished friday ahead of the holiday weekend. the dow closed at 13,090 after climbing 90 points friday. the s&p gained 7. the nasdaq rose 18. looking at overseas trading in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 56 points. in hong kong, the hang seng added 76. september is historically the worst month for stocks but there's reason to think this september may be different. friday ben bernanke gave his long-awaited jackson, wyoming, speech and hinted another round of economic stimulus to stimulate the recovery is on the way. the fed's next meeting will be on september 12th and 13th. given bernanke's clear signals, until then markets will be likely riding a wave of anticipation and optimism. this week, investors will also be looking ahead to another central bank meeting on thursday where it's expected the ecb may announce its own stimulus plan, buying spanish and italian bonds

helping take pressure off those indebted countries. all eyes on august employment report out friday. economists expect about 120,000 jobs were added in august. the "new york times" reports new york's attorney general is investigating tax strategies as some of the nation's largest private equity firms, including bain capital, founded by republican presidential nominee mitt romney. finally, officials in canada have discovered an undisclosed but significant amount of maple syrup was stolen, siphoned out of a warehouse in quebec. why maple syrup? at last year's baseline price, a barrel of maple syrup is worth more than 15 times what a barrel of oil is worth. the nfl's leading rusher gets back in action, and a tennis great keeps his career alive. a home run-robbing catch that sends one minor leaguer over the wall.

your "early morning" sports headlines are straight ahead. a recap of your labor day forecast. no one wants it but your back to work and school forecast too.

good morning. if you're just waking up this is

"early today." in sports the atlanta braves capped off a ninth-inning rally against the philadelphia phillies with a three-run walkoff homer. here's nbc's mario solis and a look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the chipper jones farewell tour keeps getting better and better. playing the phillies for the last time in atlanta and chipper goes out in style. a three-run walkoff homer in the ninth. braves win 8-7. things haven't gone exactly as planned for the dodgers since their trade last week. maybe this will start turning things around. down one in the ninth to arizona, adrian gonzales ripped a double into the corner. in come two. dodgers walk off with a 5-4 win. orioles' marc reynolds hit a pair of home runs against the yanks. bolt more trail new york by two games for first place in the a.l. east. tigers moved into a tie for first with the white sox. delmon young's homer in the sixth is the difference. tigers beat the sox 4-2.

nfl, if you drafted maurice jones-drew in your fantasy football league, he ended his 38-day holdout. mjd did not get a new contract but he's back on the field. andy roddick beat fabio to advance to the fourth round of the u.s. open. the shot of the match, chasing down the lob shot and returning it between his legs. roddick would win the point but favio won over the crowd. it's not enough, roddick moves on. >> denny hamlin took the checkered flag in atlanta, it's his second straight win. a great catch in the minor leagues. aaa teams for the yanks and red sox. bases loaded, it's high, it's deep, it's gone. and so is the left fielder. jason repko makes the catch and flies over the wall, robbing fukudome of the grand slam head over heels. that's your look at sports on "early today."

i'm mario solis. russell crowe loses his way. and kim kardashian is not getting something she wants. your "early morning" entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you can debate whether it's a sport but there's no question it's really, really fast.

welcome back on this labor day. hope you're enjoying your

holiday weekend up to this point. we're going to be warm in the middle of the country. dallas possibly up to the 100s. 80s in the northern plains. warmer than we should be but not that humid. the eastern half the country is very humid today and tomorrow too. the next two days in a row, numerous showers and thunderstorms especially in the mid-atlantic region as we go throughout your tuesday, even into wednesday around new york city to d.c. if you're watching on news channel 13 in albany, new york, and nearby bening ton, vermont, enjoy a gallery showcasing over 50 scenes of rolling hills and seashores at "impressions of new england" at the bening ton center for the arts. that's your "early event for the day." here's a look at this morning's headlines and entertainment news. at the box office this weekend, fear ruled. the horror film "the possession" took advantage of the holiday weekend. not much competition. and a pg-rating. that's not for you? >> no. >> how about this one? as expected, the big balloon

venture earned the worst wide release opening ever, averaging just $207 a theater. >> you can do the math at $10 a ticket, 20 people average in every theater. >> elsewhere, oscar-winner russell crowe and a friend had to be rescued by a u.s. coast guard boat after they lost their way kayaking in the waters off new york's long island. oops. where's the compass? finally, check this out. hollywood's walk of fame is one place you won't be finding the ubiquitous x ubiquitous kim kardashian. all saying she wanted her own star, winning the award is part of the criteria for being selected and a career in business or acting for five years or more. has she ever done any acting? >> not that i know of. >> nothing i can remember. >> nothing that any of us know. >> nothing remarkable. oh, well, she can keep trying, i

guess. she's still got time. wtwo, nbc news in terra haute, indiana, in nearby bloomington, watch closely. we did not speed up the video you are about to see. it shows 7-year-old austin who's shattering records for stacking cups. the second grader has been known to do it in less than 2 seconds. he got his start months ago after seeing videos of the so-called sports stacking online. >> you didn't speed that up? >> no, this is regular speed. austin says he feels like "the fastest in the whole universe." pretty fast. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," the first stop of the day today on your nbc stations.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. if you're up watching this, go back to bed. things are pretty quiet right now. we had some heavy rain in some neighborhoods. nothing of any consequence. 75 at the airport. scattered showers and thunderstorms will redevelop, especially this afternoon. high temperature of 83. >> 4:57.

75 degrees on tv hill. fire destroys a landmark in dundalk. >> of fire claims the life of an elderly woman in baltimore. >> the victim of the perry hall high school shooting remains in the hospital this morning. tracking isaac. why some men in new orleans why some men in new orleans think

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. i am sarah caldwell. >> i am stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> people are getting ready to >> people are getting ready to fire up the